Doraiswamy had sent the girl's father to Tamil Nadu on an errand and abused the girl left in his care, police said. "My wife and I treated Doraiswamy like our brother, but he turned out to be a cruel beast," said girl's father, who is struggling to establish himself after a failed bakery business venture.

According to the police, Doraiswamy admitted the girl in the hospital on Monday, claiming she had been injured while playing. He claimed to be her uncle, but did not return to the hospital thereafter. Doctors spotted the bite marks and suspected the child had been sexually abused. The hospital alerted the state Child Welfare Committee.

"After Doraiswamy was picked up on Wednesday, the hospital staff confirmed he was the man who had admitted the girl," Bangalore police commissioner BG Jyothiprakash Mirji said on Friday. A doctor attending on the girl said, "She is responding well to treatment and will be discharged soon."